The present invention relates to methods, systems and computer program products for monitoring computer systems and more particularly, for monitoring applications distributed to such computer systems.
Computer networks have grown increasingly complex with the use of distributed client/server applications, mixed platforms and multiple protocols all on a single physical backbone. The control of traffic on the networks is likewise moving from centralized information technology (IT) departments to distributed workgroups. The growing utilization of computer networks is not only causing a move to new, high-speed technologies but is at the same time making the operation of computer networks more critical to day-to-day business operations.
The growth in complexity and dependence on computer networks heightens the need for network management tools to design, build and maintain computer networks. The mix of protocols and vendors of installed hardware on many computer networks generally increases the difficulty of accomplishing network management. This problem may arise in planning or designing changes to a network, monitoring performance of a network, and testing the impact on performance of different hardware and software being installed on a network.
Systems management software has been proposed to assist in management of software installed on a managed computer network, which may allow an organization to control distribution of applications, updates to applications, security patches and the like across network devices supported by the organization from a centralized server location. For example, the system management server (SMS), available from Microsoft Corporation, is a software product for managing large groups of Windows-based computer systems including supporting distribution of software to supported devices by advertising available SMS packages to designated client devices and delivery of advertised SMS packages to client devices for installation.
SMS provides remote control, patch management, software distribution and hardware and software inventory functionality. SMS provides such functionality in a mobile environment through use of industry standards independent of connection or location, which may be advantageous for organizations supporting laptop computers and the like.
In particular, SMS provides for both deployment and monitoring of deployed security patches and the like from a central location to assist IT managers with assuring proper installation of advertised SMS packages. In addition, it is possible to obtain a report on advertised SMS packages at a client device having an SMS client application executing thereon. An example of such a report is seen in the graphical user interface (GUI) shown in FIG. 1. However, obtaining a report such as seen in FIG. 1 using SMS generally requires a sequence of user inputs and provides a display format that may be confusing to a typical user of a client device. As a result, in a typical implementation of SMS, the SMS client application is run in the background and a user of the client device may not even be aware that the SMS client application is executing on the client device, nonetheless how to obtain status information from the SMS client application.